Thursday, September 29, 2005

US: Regaining trust in mass media

According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans have somewhat regained trust in the mass media. According to the survey, conducted September 12-15, 13% of respondents have a 'great deal' and 37% a 'fair amount' of 'trust and confidence in the mass media'. On the other side, 37% have 'not very much' and 12% 'none at all'. Those figures show a slight increase in trust and confidence that respondents have in mass media. (The question was: "In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media - such as newspapers, T.V. and radio - when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately, and fairly - a great deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?)

However, when looking at figures from the last years, the level of trust is still relatively low. In 1972, when the question was asked for the first time, 68% had a 'great deal' or a 'fair amount' of trust in the media, compared to 49% this year. Also in recent years, from 1997 to 2003, this figure was always higher than 50%. This year's result is therefore only an improvement compared to last year's low result of 44%. However, it could be a sign of hope.